CHAPTER 40
Castyr let out a sigh as he leaned against the bars of the cage. He had been moved to the cell that held the only other prisoner in the corridor. The star turned his head to observe the demon. He had pitch-black hair and black eyes. He was skinny from lack of nutrients, but his folded body would have stood to a substantial height. The demon opened his eyes when he felt the star observing him and made contact with Castyr's sky-dark orbs.
The two continued to gaze at each other through silence and did not bother to look away. Castyr's heart hurt as he recalled Orion telling him the reason the demon had been imprisoned was due to falling in love with another demon. The boys' thoughts through the silence were cut short by the dreaded sound of the door opening. The demon moved his black orbs from the star to peer at the entrance, his eyes widening as he stared at the body that was being dragged down the stairs. The demon's face paled, and tears entered his big eyes as the group of demons stopped in front of the boys' cell.
"B-Benni," the demon let out in the tiniest whimper.
Castyr stared at the bloodied demon as the body was thrown to the ground. Unlike other demons that Castyr had seen, Ben had beautiful white hair. He looked up weakly, revealing deep eyes the color of red wine. A trail of blood leaked from his lips, and his body was covered with blood and gashes.
"Erin," Ben said his love's name shakily before a boot was placed on his outstretched hand.
"Let him go!" Castyr's cellmate cried as Ben let out a painful groan. The black-eyed demon rose to his feet and rushed to the front of the cage.
"Oh, we will. Don't worry, little one. We will let him go down the abyss," one of the demons who had dragged Ben down the stairs sneered.
Erin's eyes widened with fear when he heard the guard's words. "...No..."
"You see, Erin, Benni here failed his mission," the demon informed Castyr's cellmate as he rotated his foot on Ben's hand, extracting a pained moan from the white-haired demon.
"Then punish me!" Erin cried desperately as he clung to the bars of his cell. "Punish me!!"
"Tsk tsk tsk. It doesn't work that way anymore, Erin. Because you see, Ben didn't just fail his mission, he betrayed Hades. He let the child of his target live, and that does not end with just his usual punishment. The sentence is death."
That one word echoed in Erin's ears down to his soul. "No, no, no, please!"
Castyr took in the situation as he looked from the man on the ground to the black-haired demon who continued to plead for his lover's life.
"That won't save him, Erin. There's nothing you can do," another demon said evilly as he spat on the white-haired demon.
"So we thought we would let him say goodbye. After all, you two have been very entertaining these past years. You deserve it," the third demon sneered.
By this time, tears were streaming down Erin's face. He reached his hand through the bars of his cell and barely touched the tips of Ben's fingers. The guard lifted his foot from Ben's hand, so his prisoner could reach for his lover.
Castyr watched in horror as the first demon drew his sword. A small smile appeared on Ben's lips as he finally felt the touch of his love after five long years. Even though Erin's face was stained with tears, he looked as beautiful as ever in the eyes of his lover. There was so much that Ben wanted to tell Erin. There were so many places he wanted to bring Erin, to show him the wonders of the universe. He wanted to hold him in his arms one last time, but he knew he was fortunate to be able to just see him again. Ben would never forget those big eyes or his lover's moon smile.
The sound of the blade being drawn lasted for several seconds as the world slowed, as Erin and Ben's world slowed. They need it to. No, they need it to stop. But it refused. It kept going. It kept spinning. The shining blade kept getting closer. Erin's tears kept falling. Ben's smile kept telling Erin how much he had missed him.
It even slowed for Castyr. To watch an innocent man being punished for sparing a life. To watch the demon whose only crime was to love be helpless at his partner's execution. A fire raged inside the star at the cruelty. He drew upon the force provided by the ever-coming blood sun and channeled it through his light. Erin's eyes never left Ben as Castyr began to glow dangerously.
"I love you," Ben managed to say before the hall was filled with light. Everyone became blinded, even Castyr. It was a powerful blast, but the star remained unfazed with exception of his vision blurring for a few seconds. The star shook his head to adjust to his surroundings. Upon opening his eyes, Castyr saw that the light caused the control panel for the cells to malfunction. The star instantly kicked the door open and rushed outside as alarms began to sound.
The three demons were gone, but the sword had done its damage. Erin let out a cry as he rushed to Ben. The demon cradled his love in his lap as he pleaded, "Open your eyes. Benni, open your eyes! Please!"
Castyr's head whipped toward the stairs as the door was flung open. Reinforcements had arrived.
Erin's eyes glowed a bright red as he growled at the approaching guards. Grabbing the sword from the ground where it had fallen, Erin stood in front of Ben. "I'll hold them off," the demon told the star as he readied the blade. Castyr looked back at the demon; his face was cold and unforgiving. "Run!" Erin yelled as he engaged the guards in combat. "Save the angel! Go!"
Castyr knew it would be impossible to convince the demon to leave with him. Erin was ready to fight to his last. There was no way Erin was going to leave his love. Not again.
Catching the silhouette of a guard sneaking off to raise the alarm throughout Hades, Castyr wasted no time in chasing after the stray demon. After fighting his way through some of the stragglers, Castyr followed the guard out the back door of the corridor and into a wide hall. Like every other hall, torches lined the walls, casting the high space in an orange glow.
Castyr was quick to catch up to the stray. The star could immediately tell why the demon chose to run instead of fight. He was weak. Castyr chuckled as he slammed the demon against the rough wall, his hand around the guard's throat.
"Well, well, what have we here? A cowardly demon. You know, I am fed up with your kind. So, answer me properly, and I will kill you mercifully." If Castyr could see himself right now, he would be terrified. His eyes darkened, and his lips curled in a cruel smirk. But could you blame him? He watched as an innocent was slain, an angel was beaten and dragged out to be drained...and Erin.....
"I'll-I'll tell you. Whatever you need to know. Just, please let me go," the demon pleaded pathetically as he squirmed in the star's grasp.
"Where is the throne room? And you had better tell me truthfully." Castyr tightened his grip slightly to emphasize his threat.
The star set the limp demon on the floor after the stray told him what he wanted to know. Castyr released the guard as he stood up straight. "Thought so. Just needed to be sure." The star recalled some of the turns and twists leading from the throne room to the cells, but he needed to be certain. Now, he was. And now, it was time to save Orion.
A shout from the direction of the cells shook Castyr to his core as he heard the demon's final cry. The star grit his teeth as a single tear fell to the ground. Castyr balled his fists as he raised his head and began dashing madly to the throne room. He must save Orion. He could not lose another.
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Ilios stared up at the crystal glass dome covering him. Purple light cracked and flashed inside the glass as the machine was activated. The angel remained calm as he felt his energy and life begin to be pulled from his body. Ilios steadied his breathing as he ran the plan through his head, remembering how and when Rae and Kilo would reveal themselves.
Orion began to stir with the whirring of the machine. He looked around in a daze until he saw those soft red eyes staring down at him. "Aklys?" The actaeon groaned as he tried to sit up. With the help of Aklys, Orion was able to look around the throne room. "Castyr!" The angel gasped as he recalled being dragged out of his holding cell. He then whipped his head to look at his love who had been declared dead. Orion did not ask why or how Aklys was alive. He was just grateful his love was there beside him. After a few breaths of silence, Orion let his gaze flow to the glass dome.
Orion crinkled his brows as he stared at the majestic angel glowing beneath the dome. The pull from the machine had forced the angel's wings to spread, displaying the blonde's full beauty. Orion gazed in awe at the giant white wings stretched out on either side of the angel. The angel and Orion locked eyes for a split second before the white-winged tore his gaze away and stared at one of the hall's side entrances in shock.
The actaeon followed the angel's gaze to see a frenzied Castyr running into the throne room. The star's clothes were torn, revealing claw marks obtained from fighting his way to the hall, and his body was covered with blood. The star looked around the throne room hastily, his eyes running over Orion in Aklys' arms before landing on the white-winged angel in the dome.
Castyr's eyes filled with fear and rage as he saw Ilios standing under the dome. Before Castyr knew it, his hand was glowing a hot white as he charged the king of Hades. A smirk replaced the king's surprised expression as he easily evaded the star's blasts of light. Castyr was so immersed in defeating the king and rescuing Ilios that he did not notice the two angels jump from the stone beams in the ceiling and begin fighting the wave of demons rushing through every door.
Denzyl and Aklys immediately joined the fight and kept the demons from swarming the star.
"Get Ilios out of there!" Kilo shouted to Rae during the bloody frenzy, who quickly nodded. Rae left the captain's side upon Kilo's words and raced over to the machine's control panel. After carefully watching the process of Ilios being put into the dome, Rae had quickly deciphered the disabling and cool-down processes. As soon as the dome retracted, Rae rushed onto the platform. The chocolate-haired angel scooped Ilios into his arms and brought him over to where Orion was recovering.
"Rae," Ilios clung onto his angel's arm, grabbing his love's attention.
"Are you okay?" Rae asked as he gently set his love on the ground.
Ilios reassured the blue-eyed angel with a nod. "Save Castyr...please."
"Of course." Rae pecked Ilios on the head before standing and rejoining the fight. A few moments later, Denzyl broke away and went to guard the two recovering angels on orders from Kilo. Blood began to cover the walls and floor as the battle continued, and shouts and growls filled the hall as demons were slain.
"Surrender if you value his life!" The king's voice boomed throughout the throne room as Kilo slashed Ymir through an enemy's neck, severing its head. Orion and Ilios quickly looked in the direction of the command to see Castyr being held in the king's clutches.
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